In a bold move, Brown University is set to inject $50 million into Rhode Island workforce development as part of a deal with the Trump administration. This agreement not only brings back lost federal research funding but also wraps up any investigations about alleged discrimination, as officials announced this Wednesday.
Beneath the surface, Brown has accepted a number of stipulations that correspond with President Donald Trump’s agenda. For instance, the university now will define ‘male’ and ‘female’ according to government standards and will eliminate any considerations around race from the admissions process.
In her statements, Brown President Christina H. Paxson emphasized that the agreement is designed to maintain the university’s academic freedom. A key point in the terms prohibits the government from imposing curtailments on curriculum or academic discourse at Brown.
“Throughout our negotiations, our top priority was to stay true to our academic ideals, our fundamental values, and our identity as a community,” Paxson clarified.
This latest arrangement marks another chapter in the tale of Ivys grappling with the Trump administration’s attempts to reform liberal ideologies in education—an administration that has raised concerns over diversity measures deemed discriminatory against white and Asian American students.
The deal struck with Brown parallels a recent agreement by Columbia University, which the government labeled as a guiding framework for similar institutions. However, unlike Columbia’s contract, this arrangement does not require an external oversight body.
This three-year deal not only reinstates numerous suspended grants and contracts but also fetches Brown a federal reimbursement of $50 million for unpaid research grant expenses.
Furthermore, this settlement brings a close to three federal examinations tied to claims of antisemitism and bias in Brown’s admissions processes, albeit without any findings of misconduct. In her campus letters, Paxson responded to possible critiques regarding the settlement, explaining that the university faced considerable financial stress from the federal level and a growing expectation of further government oversight in education.
Signing this sealed the government’s concerns yet without compromising university principles, she asserted.
“We stand unwavering in our promises to shield everyone in our community from harassment or discrimination, meanwhile upholding the autonomy of our faculty and students to explore academic subjects of interest without fear of censorship,” she added.
Brown has taken several steps addressing claims of antisemitism on its Providence campus, such as renewing ties with Israeli academicians and promoting applications from Jewish day school students. By year’s end, the university must engage an independent entity—mutually selected by Brown and the government—to survey the environment for Jewish students on campus.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon applauded the agreement, declaring that it guarantees that all students will be evaluated based on their individual merits without regard to race or gender.
McMahon remarked, “The Trump administration is effectively reversing the lengthy hold liberal ideologies have had that dominate higher education.”
The agreement stipulates that Brown is required to present detailed data on its applicants and admits concerning their ethnicity, academic records, and standardized assessments. This data will be exposed to exhaustive scrutiny by the federal government.
Importantly, the settlement restricts Brown from favoring applications based on racial backgrounds. While a Supreme Court ruling in 2023 outlaws such practices, the terms effectively go even further, barring the use of any ‘proxy’ for racial admissions—a category that includes personal statements and scenarios painting a picture of ‘diversity.’
The planned payments totaling $50 million to local workforce development initiatives will be spread over a decade, a move considered a significant leap forward compared to merely paying fines, akin to what Columbia opted for.
Ted Mitchell, head of the American Council on Education, prompted caution, suggesting it’s still uncertain if Brown and other institutions can completely sidestep government interference.
“Let’s bear in mind, these are agreements. They’re not universal policies,” Mitchell commented. “I had anticipated that the Trump administration would show real interest in consulting on substantial educational reform. So far, that remains unfulfilled.”
Just last week, Columbia signed off on a $200 million deal with the government for a similar resolution. Meanwhile, negotiations with Harvard show that the administration has been pushing for even steeper reparations.
In a separate arrangement, the University of Pennsylvania has committed to altering records of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, included without the imposition of any fines.
Associated Press’s own Cheyanne Mumphrey contributed to this update.
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